Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination
The American Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry encourage oral health professionals to strongly recommend human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. This study examined oral health professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2025.2511484 |
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| author | Paula M. Cuccaro Jihye Choi Kawtar Zouaidi Efrat K. Gabay Michael Mackert Josefine Ortiz Wolfe |
| author_facet | Paula M. Cuccaro Jihye Choi Kawtar Zouaidi Efrat K. Gabay Michael Mackert Josefine Ortiz Wolfe |
| author_sort | Paula M. Cuccaro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The American Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry encourage oral health professionals to strongly recommend human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. This study examined oral health professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination. We used purposive sampling to recruit participants through state and national oral health societies and social media platforms. Flyers outlining eligibility criteria were distributed, and eligible participants completed an online survey. Primary measures included participants’ HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and willingness to receive HPV-related training and recommend HPV vaccination to patients, including parents of adolescents. Only responses from dental hygienists (n = 380) were analyzed due to an insufficient sample size of dentists. Mostly female, White, and practicing in urban areas, hygienists had overall low awareness of the high prevalence of HPV and HPV vaccine efficacy in preventing several types of HPV-associated cancers. While the discussion of the HPV-oropharyngeal cancer link was perceived as relevant to their practice, participants generally disagreed with administering the vaccine in the dental office. Less than half of participants believed they were responsible for recommending the vaccine with low perceived knowledge and self-efficacy to discuss HPV vaccination with parents of adolescents. Despite the current lack of HPV vaccine recommendations in their practice, more than half of the participants were willing to educate their patients about the importance of the vaccine to prevent oropharyngeal cancer. HPV-focused educational interventions tailored to oral health practice may improve dental hygienists’ confidence and motivation to promote HPV vaccination for oral cancer prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-07e7ff12116f4185bf1f3ebdfff23c6d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2164-5515 2164-554X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
| spelling | doaj-art-07e7ff12116f4185bf1f3ebdfff23c6d2025-08-20T03:13:02ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2025-12-0121110.1080/21645515.2025.2511484Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccinationPaula M. Cuccaro0Jihye Choi1Kawtar Zouaidi2Efrat K. Gabay3Michael Mackert4Josefine Ortiz Wolfe5Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USADepartment of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USATexas Center for Oral Healthcare Quality & Safety, School of Dentistry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USACenter for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USACenter for Health Communication, Moody College of Communication and Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USASchool of Human Ecology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USAThe American Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry encourage oral health professionals to strongly recommend human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. This study examined oral health professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination. We used purposive sampling to recruit participants through state and national oral health societies and social media platforms. Flyers outlining eligibility criteria were distributed, and eligible participants completed an online survey. Primary measures included participants’ HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and willingness to receive HPV-related training and recommend HPV vaccination to patients, including parents of adolescents. Only responses from dental hygienists (n = 380) were analyzed due to an insufficient sample size of dentists. Mostly female, White, and practicing in urban areas, hygienists had overall low awareness of the high prevalence of HPV and HPV vaccine efficacy in preventing several types of HPV-associated cancers. While the discussion of the HPV-oropharyngeal cancer link was perceived as relevant to their practice, participants generally disagreed with administering the vaccine in the dental office. Less than half of participants believed they were responsible for recommending the vaccine with low perceived knowledge and self-efficacy to discuss HPV vaccination with parents of adolescents. Despite the current lack of HPV vaccine recommendations in their practice, more than half of the participants were willing to educate their patients about the importance of the vaccine to prevent oropharyngeal cancer. HPV-focused educational interventions tailored to oral health practice may improve dental hygienists’ confidence and motivation to promote HPV vaccination for oral cancer prevention.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2025.2511484Dental hygienistsHPV vaccinationHPV knowledgevaccine communicationvaccine recommendationoropharyngeal cancer |
| spellingShingle | Paula M. Cuccaro Jihye Choi Kawtar Zouaidi Efrat K. Gabay Michael Mackert Josefine Ortiz Wolfe Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics Dental hygienists HPV vaccination HPV knowledge vaccine communication vaccine recommendation oropharyngeal cancer |
| title | Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination |
| title_full | Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination |
| title_fullStr | Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination |
| title_short | Understanding dental hygienists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HPV vaccination |
| title_sort | understanding dental hygienists knowledge attitudes and practices regarding hpv vaccination |
| topic | Dental hygienists HPV vaccination HPV knowledge vaccine communication vaccine recommendation oropharyngeal cancer |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2025.2511484 |
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